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A104 Maytag Washer - Instructions

All installation instructions for A104 parts

These instructions have been submitted by other PartSelect customers and can help guide you through the washer repair with useful information like difficulty of repair, length of repair, tools needed, and more.

Loosened the hose clamp, removed the injector valve and injector nozzle assembly, replaced both and tightened with new hose clamp. Fixed the problem for less than $20!! Washing machine is 20 years old and this was the first problem--hopefully it is now good for another 20 years!

Removed two PH screws from front cover then pulled bottom of front cover outward and down to remove.

Caution for those doing this: take a piece of 220 or 240 grit paper and sand all the edges of the clamp. Trying to put it on without doing so will result in countless paper cuts in hands.

Before putting new clamp on be sure to use either some soap or silicon lube on the rubber V seal between upper and lover tub.

Also need to put some 1/4" to 3/8" spacers at three equally spaced places beneath the upper tub and the lower tub. If this isn't done the upper tub will drop down too far inside the lower tub and the inner lower tub, when it starts to spin, will rub on the underside of the upper tub = cause the main drive belt to smoke and tub to "freeze up"

Spacers I used were simply 3 pieces of multi strand sheathed electrical wire 3/8" so that I could bend them down at an angle and put them out once clamp was in place. Wire pieces need to be about 4-5" long.

Assemble one bolt in clamp and thread around tub in CCW direction.

Position one bolt of the clamp in right rear corner. this is important so that when tub goes out of balance, there's clearance for the clamp bolts and they don't contact the cabinet.

Make sure before threading clamp arount tub that the screw that will end up in the front left corner has a hex head on it so that you can apply some clamping "muscle" with a socket wrench.

I had trouble getting the front left screw inserted in the clamp (its only 2" long) so I used a 3" bolt to make the preliminary connection to pull the clamp semi tight. I planned ahead and got a light wire coat hanger to use as a "tie-tie" in the event that I had to remove the 3" slotted screw to revert back to the 2" hex head screw. Luckily when I removed the 3" screw I was able to quickly pop the 2" hex head back in and tighten completely.

Before putting front cover on, do one load with front cover off to make sure that upper and lower/inner tub don't rub each other.

If ok, turn power back off and put front cover back on.

Note: Would advised ordering the rubber V-seal if you are ordreing the clamp. If you buy the seal there are four bolts in the lid that let you lift the lid to work on the tub, clamp and seal MUCH more easily. Sticky part is getting water fill tube in top left rear disconnected so that new rubber v-seal can slide over tub.

Note also that in order to get to front left lid bolt that single bolt holding diaphram onto front left upright must be removed so as the let diaphram assembly drop away to access front left lid bolt. The two bolts in the rear can be accessed from the top very easily. Also need to disconnect the bleach fill tube in order to lift the lid (right side lifts up to vertical position)

The water didn't pump out during the spin cycle

I took out the two screws in the bottom front panel of the washer, and rotated the front panel from the bottom away from the machine until the top or the panel was released from the machine frame. I then tilted the washer back to get access to the bottom of the machine. The pump pulley had split in half, and the bottom half fell off the drive motor shaft. The only problem I had was breaking free the set screw that holds the pulley to the drive motor shaft. I used a long arm Allen wrench and an adjustable "Cresent" wrench to apply enough force to break the set screw loose. Iclamped the upper transmission belts tightly to keep the motor shaft from turning while I loosened the set screw.

cold water barely flows, hot is ok

These Maytag people know how to build stuff. I was impressed with this valve. Built really smart. After a gazillion years (about 16 or so) the valve started making a funny groaning noise and the cold water flow was very slow. Took about 15-20 minutes to fill the tub.

the inlet valve is located on the back of the washer where the hoses are connected. In fact the hose connectors are part of the valve.

To replace this valve, start by unplugging and turning off the water spigots, unscrew the two hoses from the valve. (you need a towel here, but that'll be obvious soon enough.)

Unscrew the single screw at the top of the valve bracket (the bottom of the bracket is held in place without screws.) Remove the screw holding on the sheet metal and pull the bracket out as far as you can without stretching things. Write down what colors of wire are connected, then pull off the electrical connectors.

The valve outlet is a skinny (compared to the inlet hoses) rubber hose that has a clamp to hold it in place. The clamp needs to be loosened with a 3/16" nutdriver a plier would probably work, but may be hard to get in there. Now slide the clamp further up on the hose, dislodge the rubber hose off of the old valve. Now it's free.

Reverse the steps. Believe it or not, that is all. It works great and this washer probably has another 10 year left in it.

Water leaking from bottom of machine

I had trouble initially because I could see that the inside of the machine was wet but could not get it to leak while I was watching. Finally while the machine was filling I put my hand over the fill opening in the tub and then I got plenty of water coming from the air gap in the injector hose. When I dismantled the injector hose and air gap, I could see that the rubber injector vale was bad. I orgered both a rubber injector and injector hose with air gap. I did this because I couldn't determine if the assembly came with the injector valve. It did so I returned the injector valve. A word of caution. When I started filling the machine water gushed out the air gap. With a little experimenting with the air gap and injector valve, I determined the rubber injector valve was in backward. After reversing the vale, everything worked fine. This was a sealed package so I would have to say this came from the manufacturer wrong.

Water was leaking at the injector nozzle during the fill cycle. I could not visually see any damage to the existing part, but, ordered replacement parts, anyway. The new parts arrived and looked EXACTLY like the old ones. Clearly, the new parts would leak, too. So, I cut a three-inch length of 3/4-inch OD pipe and spliced the two hoses together, completely eliminating the troublesome parts. The washer works fine and does not leak. And, it fills much faster, now. I still have no clue as to the purpose of the injector nozzle nor do I know why it did NOT leak for 30 years.

1. Unplug power to the washer.2. Remove 2 screws from bottom front panel on either side. Panel then rotates out and unhooks at the top. Remove front panel3. Remove bolts from underneath the top front on both sides using a socket. 4. Rotate the top upward to provide space to see and work.5. From the back of the washer, remove 4 bolts using a socket around the drain tube at the upper left. 6. From the front, the siphon valve can be removed from the inside upper right. 7. From the front, unscrew the clamp holding the drain hose on the water pump housing at the bottom right front and remove the hose. Be prepared for water to drain from the hose. Remove hose and siphon valve together and discard.8. Install new hose on new siphon valve and screw new clamp tight. Make sure the rubber ring is inserted properly on the new valve (See old valve for reference) 9. Holding the siphon valve in place, use a socket and re-attach the 4 bolts around the drain tube at the back of the washer. 10. From the front, insert the opposite end of the new hose to the water pump at the lower right front and screw the circle clamp tight. Note: Re-use existing clamp. 11. Rotate the top back down into normal position. 12. Plug the power back in and run a short cycle and watch for leaks. 13. If no leaks, re-attach bolts for the top with a socket. 14. Re-attach front panel with 2 screws. Done.

I removed the two screws holding the control panel on. Pulled the control panel back.Disconnected the ground wire of the lid switch.removed the two top clamps that hold the panel to the top of the machine. Pulled back the casing (outside of the washer) and placed it on it's side on the floor. Here I could reach the switch. Removed old, installed new and reversed the process.

The part that gave me the biggest problem was setting the casing back on to the frame. You have to slide the front part in at the bottome, then lean back the rest of it.

Determined the tub seal was bad and ordered the seal and tub bearing. Removed the front cover with two phillips screws and unbolted the top to lift back. Removed the agitator with 1/4" setscrew on side and lifted out. Using punch and hammer, broke the inner tub nut loose (clockwise is off). Lifted out the inner tub, unscrewed springs from the bottom and removed; then removed the bearing with a little prying (had to raise the tub slightly and tap the center splined shaft to push out) and lifted out the outer tub. Outer tub had few rust spots about to penetrate, so sanded off rust, primed with etching auto primer and sprayed enamel topcoat to prevent further corrosion. Reassembled in the same order.

When done, there was still a loud noise on the spin cycle, so obtained a spin bearing and brake assembly (need to replace both most always). Tilted the machine on its back and removed the pulley, then put a special wrench on the brake assembly and broke loose (counterclockwise) with a 3 foot extension after placing a 2x4 section in the tub between wall and one of the bases for the spring arms (to keep the tub from turning). When the brake came off it was full of water and corroded from the leaking tub bearing previously replaced. Reassembled in reverse order and replaced two belts on the bottom for good measure. Works perfectly now and is very quiet.

In my estimation, the repair should have included both the tub bearing/seal and the spin bearing/brake assy from the outset. Could have used a chain visegrip wrench instead of special tool to remove the brake assy - whatever is available. The tool costs a lot and will never be used again.

I want to mention only the difficult parts.The removal of the retaining ring/nut (which is under the agitator) . After 10 + years, it was very hard to move this part and it was eventually broke it to remove it. WD40 was used but not effective (to much calicum build up). You must turn the cone shaped piece (located under the inner tub) clock wise to get it to remove. A spanner wrench was not used to remove this. I used a punch and a tack hammer. We could not remove the old tub bearing (closest to the shaft), so we just cleaned it up with emory cloth and used the new tub seal/outer bearing. Spins great but have not been able to check the water leakage problem yet.Caution: there are two dark colored ring (very thin) that go back on top of the rubber collar. These must be reused. These are hard to see. I pushed the old tub seal/bearing out with the end of a 2x4 (very slowly and carefully). I put the tub up on two of the 2x4's, for clearance off of the floor and used the third to knock the old bearing out. Old machine are very messy.

Machine started making loud squeak, then completely stopped after a couple more cycles.

I tilted machine onto the front to acces the rear panel. i removed the three screws to expose pump, took of the drive belt located under appliance, removed the three pump screws and removed old defective pump. I installed new pump, put the drive belt back on, reinstalled back panel and screws, hooked the appliance up and started. Been running great ever since. Entire process too about 10 min.

After reading the description of the problem and finding the source of the leak I decided to buy the parts suggested. To begin: 1. Unplug and turn off water valves at the wall.2. Unscrew the two front phillips head screws that hold the front of the machine on. Pull off the front facing panel of the washer.3. There are two hex head screws that hold the lid on. Remove these and then the lid can be lifted to see the nozzle and the valve. 4. Unscrew the pipe clamp that hold the valve on to the pipe. 5. Take out the old valve and nozzle.6. Use water or soap to lubricate the nozzle and valve before replacing.7. Install the new parts and reinstall the pipe clamp. 8. Replace the lid and the screws.9. Replace the face cover and the screws.10. Plug in the machine and turn on the valves and test.

I tested the machine and thought I could save the water and run another cycle later. This is a bad idea. The water fills up and over the top when a new cycle is added because there is no water level sensor. If you decide to test it and need to empty the water instead of wash a load you can turn the dial to spin and it will drain your test water.Best

I looked up the procedure to remove the switch in a repair book, removed the broken switch. Then I reconnected the wire leads, put the part in and closed everything up. The part arrived so quickly and there were even instructions with the part which made the repair go so easily.

No hot water

Went on the PartSelect website, input the problem, and got the Water Inlet Valve as the diagnosis. When the part arrived, I viewed the short video on replacing the Water Inlet Valve and just followed the instructions. It could not have been easier. After turning off both the hot and cold water and pulling the plug from the wall socket, I removed the screw holding the bracket and valve to the machine; removed the 2 screws holding the valve to the bracket; removed the wire harness ends from each solenoid on the valve; replaced the valve with the new one and reattached the wire harness, followed by reattaching the bracket to the valve, and assembling to the machine.